


I'm Only Human

by AlmondRose



Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, Maybe some humor, an attempt at angst, mourning!!, oh well, people die!!, thats probably a bad combo, varying lengths
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-03
Updated: 2016-08-05
Packaged: 2018-07-29 01:54:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 2,472
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7665760
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlmondRose/pseuds/AlmondRose
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Six anniversaries of deaths.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

 

Clark finally finds Bruce on the Watchtower. Batman is standing near the wide windows, staring out at the Earth. Superman stands behind him--not too close, not too far--and watches, for a minute. 

 

“Hey, Bats?” Flash’s voice interrupts. Clark can see Barry’s concern through the cowl. “You’ve, uh, been staring at the world for a--a while now, and, um, are you okay?” Batman turns his head and  _ glares,  _ and Flash puts his hands up defensively. “Okay, um, sorry I asked. I’ll just--I’ll just leave you alone.” He speeds away, but not before throwing a helpless look at Superman. He holds up his hand, as if to say,  _ Don’t worry about me.  _ Barry nods and leaves. 

 

Superman steps around Batman and stands by his side, looking at him. Batman’s arms are crossed tightly over his chest. He’s staring fixedly at the Earth. He almost  _ radiates  _ stay-away vibes. Clark follows his gaze and stares out at Africa. 

 

“Earth’s still spinning,” he says. 

 

“Yeah,” Bruce responds, his voice tight. 

 

“People are living their lives down there, and we’re in space, watching them,” Clark says, laughing. “It’s a lot of power to have.”

 

“I don’t have any power,” Bruce says, and Clark isn’t sure whether he’s made a mistake or not. “I can’t save everyone.”

 

“Bruce…”

 

“There are people down there, kids with their parents,” Bruce continues, his voice still tightly controlled. “There are kids with their parents, coming out of movie theaters, and their worlds will stay the same. They come out of a theater, maybe in an alley, maybe not, and their lives remain  _ exactly the same. _ ”

 

“I know they do,” Clark says. “And there are people who live on that planet, and their lives keep moving, and keep going, and your life does, too. Maybe many years ago today, your parents were shot and killed. But you  _ kept living.  _ You’re changing the world. You’re in space right now, for crying out loud! Do you know how many people get to do that?” Bruce looks at him oddly. 

 

“There’s a lot of Justice League members,” he says. “Do you want me to count them?”

 

“Like you don’t already know,” Clark says. This, of all things, made Bruce’s mouth turn up in a little smile. Clark smiles back, and Bruce opens his mouth, but before he can say anything there’s a sound of the zeta beams and a loud voice calls out, “ _ There  _ you are!” Clark and Bruce turn to see Batgirl, Robin, and Nightwing. Dick rushes for Bruce, and hugs him. Clark’s surprised to see Bruce hug back. 

 

“We were worried about you,” Barbara says quietly. 

 

“You don’t have to be,” Bruce says. “I’m fine.”

 

“I know, but we were still worried,” Dick says, pulling back and pushing Jason at Bruce. Jason hugs him, too. 

 

“Do you want to stay here?” Jason asks. “We can stay with you.”

 

“No,” Bruce says. “I need to talk to Alfred. We can go home.”

 

“Good,” Barbara says, leaning in for a quick hug as well. “Dad sends his love. To Bruce, not--”

 

“I know,” Bruce says, smiling again, and he walks away with his family. Before he zeta’s down, he turns back to Clark. Clark smiles and waves. “Thank you,” Bruce says. 

  
“Anytime,” Clark says. “Besides, you can return the favor on the anniversary of Krypton blowing up.” Bruce laughs, and actual laugh, and zeta’s down to Gotham. Clark turns to face the earth again, and he narrows in on Gotham, on Wayne Manor, to see Bruce hugging and thanking Alfred for all he’s done all these years. Clark’s senses retreat back to the Watchtower, and he goes off to find Barry, to apologize on behalf of Bruce. 


	2. Chapter 2

Barbara opens up the window. She’s already checked the Batcave, as the deepest, closest to the ground place, and now she’s trying the highest up place she can. According to Bruce’s tracker, Dick is still on manor grounds, it’s just a determination of  _ where.  _ She pulls herself through the window and up onto the roof. She closes the window with her foot and stands up. Yup, there he is--sitting on the edge of the roof, in a spot where he wouldn’t be able to be seen from below. She makes her way over to him, sitting down when she arrives. 

 

“Soo…” she says. 

 

“Hey Babs,” Dick says, sounding gloomy. He tosses a grappling hook from between his hands. She puts one of her hands down on the roof between them. It’s a clear offering-- _ you can hold it if you want.  _

 

He doesn’t take it. Babs swings her legs and stares at the sky. It’s almost blue, behind the clouds. From the corner of her eyes, she can see that Dick is almost entirely still, except for the grappling hook he tosses from hand to hand. 

 

“You ever feel like you might fall?” Dick asks after some time. “Whenever you’re out, fighting crime?”

 

“Sometimes,” Babs answers honestly. “But I don’t think I will.”

 

“My parents flew without a net hundreds of times,” Dick says. “And they fell.”

 

“I know,” Babs says. “Are you afraid of falling?”

 

“Yes,” Dick says, and she can hear the raw honesty in his voice. “Yes, forever.”

 

“But you haven’t kept your feet on the ground since you arrived here,” she points out. “You still do it.”

 

“Yeah,” he says. “I love it and I’m afraid of it. Ironic.” 

 

“Maybe,” she says.  “Maybe you have to fall before you can fly.” Dick turns to look at her, surprised. 

 

“What?”

 

“Maybe when your parents fell, you did too. And then you became a Robin, and you went around and saved people so they wouldn’t lose their parents like you did.” 

 

“You’re very wise,” Dick says, reaching for her hand. She intertwines their fingers together. 

 

“I know,” she says, and she smirks at him, and he leans his head on her shoulder, and the grappling hook falls to the grounds below. 

 


	3. Chapter 3

Kori has comforted Dick on the anniversary of his parent’s death. She knows how to handle that. She does not know how to handle Jason on this day, though. He’s staring broodily at a wall, a gun too close to his hands for comfort. Earlier he raged at Roy. Kori’s not sure what to do, so she slips behind him and reaches for the gun. She brushes her fingers against it, and Jason’s head turns, quickly and almost violently, to stare at her orange fingers on the gun’s handle. He doesn’t move to stop her, though, so she gets a firmer grip on the gun and moves it to his dresser drawer. She goes to leave his and Roy’s room, but she’s surprised to hear Jason say, “Stay.” 

 

She can’t refuse him, not today, so she goes over and sits next to him. He takes her hand and kisses it, then presses it against his cheek. Jason’s not an affectionate person, so it must be for a reason. Kori realizes after too long that it’s because he wants to feel someone living, someone breathing, wants to feel his heartbeat and hers, mixing together. 

 

She meets his blue eyes. He looks sad. 

 

“I wish I knew how to comfort you,” she says quietly.

 

“It’s okay,” Jason says. “Nobody ever does.”

 

“Um, Jason, correct me if I’m wrong, but are there not people, people with the Batman, who have died as well? Can you not talk to them about it?”

 

“None of them have really died, though,” Jason dismisses, sounding angry, and Kori frowns. 

 

“Didn’t Robin…?”

 

“It doesn’t matter,” Jason says, breaking her gaze and glaring at the wall again, still holding her hand, although he’s dropped it from his cheek. 

 

“It does matter,” Kori says gently, afraid of scaring him away. “There are people who have shared your experiences. You should confer with them.”

 

“They don’t want me,” Jason says, sounding anguished. 

 

“Yes they do,” Kori says. “I know it.” Jason is silent. Kori searches for something to say. “You should go to them. Maybe not today, but someday.”

 

“I know,” Jason mutters. “Not today.”

 

“Okay,” Kori says. “What do you need me to do? How can I help you?”

 

“Just stay here,” Jason says quietly. 

 

“I can do that,” Kori says, and she joins him in staring at the wall, although his glare seems less angry. 

 


	4. Chapter 4

Kon comes back to bed and Tim is still in there, with his head under the pillows and his entire body covered with blankets. Kon chuckles and sits next to him. 

 

“Hey,” he says. 

 

“Ehhhhh,” Tim says, his voice muffled. “What’s the date?” Kon checks his phone and relays the date to him. Tim stiffens. 

 

“What is it?” Kon asks. “What happened today?” Tim mumbles something into the pillow. Even with Kon’s super hearing, he’s not sure what his boyfriend said. “What was that?” 

 

“My dad died today,” Tim says loudly and clearly. Kon freezes.

 

“Oh,” he says quietly. 

 

“Yeah,” Tim says. Kon lifts the pillow from Tim’s head. Tim squints at him. 

 

“You want to...do anything? In honor of him?”

 

“Maybe later we could visit his grave,” Tim says. “But for now I don’t need to do anything.”

 

“Okay,” Kon says, and he unwraps Tim’s cocoon from around him and slips under. He burrows against him and Tim sighs. “We can stay here.”

 

“Thank you,” Tim says and Kon’s entirely sure he hasn’t done anything at all, but he says “Anytime” anyway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These keep getting shorter and shorter...I'm sorry!! I might go back and rewrite this one to be Tim being all upset about the anniversary of Kon's death, and Kon being like "I'm here, I'm here" but not now.


	5. Chapter 5

Cass finds Steph staring at her father’s grave. She goes and stands next to her friend. Steph has tears in the corners of her eye. Cass knows Steph will do her best not to let them fall. 

 

“He was terrible,” Steph says, her voice thick. “He was terrible and mean and abusive and he died and--” she cuts off. Cass wasn’t expecting her to say anything at all. 

 

“I know,” she says, and she reaches for Steph’s hand. Steph’s fingers feel grateful for something to hold onto, something to remind her that there are people with her. They stare at the grave for a long time, unmoving. Cass wants to offer sympathy, words of comfort, but she’s not sure how to form her thoughts into words. She wants to say something eloquent, but she isn’t sure if she can manage it. So she squeezes Steph’s hand, and Steph squeezes back. 

 

Cass has learned that small touches can be very comforting, and judging by Steph’s body language, she succeeded. 

 

“Was...was today the anniversary of his death?” Cass dares to ask. Steph shakes her head, her mouth twitching into a small smile, absurdly. 

 

“It’s the anniversary of mine,” she says, and Cass knows Steph never really died, otherwise she would know these things, anniversaries, but she’s not surprised Steph thinks of it as a death. A lot of people do. 

 

“I’m sorry,” Cass says, because she feels like she should say  _ something _ . 

  
“Don’t be,” Steph says, but it’s not mean, and Steph squeezes Cass’s hand again, and all Cass can do is squeeze back. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i lied about longer chapters, sorry. Maybe the last one will be longer?


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SUCCEEDED AT A LONGER CHAPTER. yay. this one is actually probably my favorite of all of them, but I am a sucker for damian/steph interactions.

Steph knows things other people might not know. So when Damian disappears on the anniversary of a day nobody likes to talk about, she knows where he is. 

 

And she’s right. He is on the roof of Dick’s apartment in Bludhaven, the apartment that’s barely used, what with Dick doing the Batman routine more often than not. The building still belongs to Bruce, though, and the lease on the penthouse apartment still says Dick Grayson on it. 

 

(Bruce owns all their apartment buildings. It should be creepy, but it’s like giving them a welcome basket whenever they move someplace. “Happy Housewarming, I bought this building.”)

 

Steph climbs up the fire escapes and shimmies up the rest of the wall to get to the roof. She sits next to Damian, leaving a few inches of space between them. If he wants to touch her for any reason--hold her hand, lean on her--she’s letting him initiate the contact. 

 

She swings her feet and whistles a mindless tune. Damian doesn’t look at her. Steph’s fine with that. She kicks her feet in time to her song, then a thought occurs to her. 

 

“Why doesn’t anyone talk about it?” Damian turns to face her, failing to mask his curiosity. “Like, on Jason’s death day it’s all a bunch of counseling and getting him to talk about his feelings. On Bruce’s everyone laughs about it. On mine, well, nobody ever remembers. Which is fine. But why is yours so taboo?” 

 

“Why should I know, Fatgirl?” he asks. “Maybe it’s because I don’t want to talk about it?”

 

“Well, if you wanted to ignore it, you wouldn’t have run away to Bludhaven,” Steph reasons. Damian rolls his eyes. Steph mimes straightening glasses. “So, Mr. Wayne, do you want to talk about your feelings?”

 

“Obviously not,” Damian sniffs. 

 

“Okay then,” Steph says. She leans back on her hands. “It’s a nice day.”

 

“There’s never nice days in Gotham,” Damian says gloomily. “Nice days are reserved for weak cities like Metropolis or Central City.”

 

“Okay, first of all that’s a load of baloney,” Steph says. “Nice days aren’t measured by the amount of clouds in the sky. Second off, we are in  _ Bludhaven _ , not Gotham. It’s completely different.” 

 

“Tt. Whatever.” Steph isn’t sure what to say, so she just kicks her feet again and is quiet. Damian doesn’t say anything either. 

 

“Why are you here?” Damian asks after a few minutes.

 

“Um, because I knew where you were and the others didn’t? Because I wanted to make sure you weren’t being stupid? Because I care? Take your pick.” 

 

“Grayson truly wasn’t aware of my location?” His voice sounds small. 

 

“I don’t know,” Steph says. “I mean, no, he didn’t know, but he was definitely looking and this place would have occurred to him eventually, I’m sure.” 

 

“How did you know?” 

 

“I’m magical,” Steph says in a sing-songy voice. Damian makes a face at her, and she sighs. “I just...I know you, okay, D? I’m not sure how I knew. I just did.”

 

“Okay,” he says, quiet and accepting, and Steph’s reminded that he’s been less of a terror these past few years. 

 

“For the record,” she says. “You should talk to Jason about the deathday thing. You can talk to me if you want, but I’ve never actually died. Feels like it, but I haven’t. Either way, there’s people to talk to.”

 

“I have no wish to talk to anyone,” Damian says. 

 

“Do you have a wish for cupcakes? Because I have a coupon to this place, and I think there’s one around the corner.”

 

“Deathday cupcakes?”

 

“Why not?” Steph asks, and Damian almost smiles. 

 

“Okay,” he says. She hears the unspoken  _ Thanks.  _

  
“No problem, buddy,” she says, and when she stands up, he takes her offered hand and they leave the roof together. 

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading! kudos/comments are always appreciated :)


End file.
